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“What do you want for breakfast?”
“Well, nothing in particular comes to mind. What do you want to eat, noona?”
“Me neither.”
“Then let’s just go to the breakfast buffet. That’ll be easier.”
“Should we?”
“Yeah.”
Han, smiling, led the way. Seeing his wet back as she followed, Hyun-soo’s face hardened slightly. She tried to act nonchalant, but she couldn’t deny feeling uncomfortable inside.
“Hurry up.”
“Oh, okay.”
Hyun-soo’s heart skipped a beat when Han suddenly turned around and gestured. She quickly smiled and nodded.
The two of them left the swimming pool side by side.
“This place is famous for its breakfast buffet, even among hotels. Eat a lot.”
“Yeah, you eat a lot too.”
Watching Han smile and pick up his cutlery, Hyun-soo stirred her soup. The steaming soup was perfect for warming her body, which had cooled down in the chilly swimming pool.
“Don’t you want to learn how to swim, noona?”
“Nope. Not at all.”
“Why? It’s fun.”
“I get chills whenever I see water. It feels like I’m going to die.”
“That’s why you should learn even more. If you can’t do it for fun, at least learn survival swimming. What are you going to do if there’s a sudden flood or the world ends? Just float around like a beer bottle?”
“Are you serious?”
Hyun-soo, who was stirring her soup, slowly stopped at his childish idea. She was dumbfounded.
“Don’t worry too much. I’ll save you. But it’s good to know the basics.”
“I don’t know.”
Han’s face, as he tore his bread and recommended swimming, was clear and innocent. A different kind of beautiful elegance from Guk. Seeing his innocent and beautiful face smiling, the conversation from the morning felt like a dream. Maybe it was all a dream?
“What are you thinking so deeply about?”
“Nothing. Let’s eat quickly.”
“Noona, eat a lot too. Don’t just stir that.”
Hyun-soo nodded and lowered her gaze. She had actually lost her appetite and had only taken a few sips of soup, but how did he know? Hyun-soo put down her spoon and picked up her fork to grab some salad.
“You’re so skinny because you eat so little. Eat this.”
“I’m fine. You brought that for yourself. You eat it.”
“I can always get more.”
“I said I’m fine.”
Han’s plate, which she was almost forced to take, was filled with fairly greasy, high-calorie, real food. Hyun-soo, looking down at it for a moment, had no choice but to take the plate and start eating from the edge.
Even though they were eating, Hyun-soo’s complicated thoughts didn’t improve. Instead, she felt even more confused with her troubled heart.
Hyun-soo, picking at Han’s plate, put down her fork as if she had made up her mind and looked at him. Han, who was drinking water, noticed and put down his glass.
“Why? Do you have something to say?”
As expected, the brothers in this family are top-notch at reading people’s minds.
“I have something I’m curious about.”
“Go ahead.”
“Does the madam often say nice things without any ulterior motive?”
“My mother? Well... without any ulterior motive? No. She usually only says things with a hidden meaning. She’s not the type to make empty promises. Why?”
Somehow, she felt frustrated. Hyun-soo laughed and picked up her spoon again. But Han wasn’t going to let it go. He asked again what was wrong.
“Well, the madam said something strange.”
“Why? Did she tell you to marry my brother?”
“Huh? Yeah. How did you know?”
Han’s hand, which was holding the bread, stopped abruptly.
“Did she really say that?”
“Yeah. How did you know?”
“I was just joking, but I guessed right. My mother is something else.”
Unbelievable. Han put down the bread he was holding and turned his gaze out the window. He rolled his tongue inside his cheek and frowned, showing that he didn’t like this topic at all.
“So. What do you think, noona?”
“Me? There’s nothing to think about. You know our relationship.”
“That’s why I’m asking.”
Oh, right. He said he knew everything. Hyun-soo closed her mouth.
“A relationship where we’ve done everything but aren’t anything. A relationship that can develop anywhere. Isn’t that you and my brother?”
She felt guilty at the words “we’ve done everything.” She was embarrassed and uncomfortable, so she couldn’t answer anything.
While Hyun-soo, averting her gaze, fiddled with the edge of her plate, Han drank all the water in his glass at once.
“I can’t tell you what to do, but one thing’s for sure.”
“...”
“I’m not happy about it.”
Hyun-soo’s eyes wavered. As expected, considering the past incident and the current environment and conditions, he wouldn’t like her, who was far behind Guk.
“I understand.”
“No, you don’t.”
“You think I’m lacking and inappropriate for Yoon Guk, don’t you?”
Han, who had been staring at Hyun-soo, chuckled.
“See? I told you you don’t understand.”
Han put down the napkin he used to wipe his mouth on the table as if throwing it.
“Thanks to the good news, I’m done with my meal. Right?”
“...”
“I want to say one more thing. Can I? No. I have to.”
“What is it...?”
His face, which had been smiling brightly as if the morning conversation had been a dream, hardened again. His reddened lips parted, and his raw, unfiltered feelings poured out.
“Don’t get married.”
“Han.”
“Later. Let’s talk about it later.”
Han, who had returned home, went straight up to his second-floor room despite Hyun-soo’s call. Hyun-soo, left alone in the living room, watched his back and sighed. It seemed like the story she had brought up had scratched his insides again.
Hyun-soo, biting her lower lip, turned around and headed to her room. She had to stay by Han’s side, but it seemed like he needed some time alone.
“Hyun-soo?”
Just then, Hyun-soo stopped at the sound of her name. She knew who had stopped her even before turning around. A gentle and feminine voice, and someone who called her kindly. It was the madam, Ji-young.
“Yes, madam.”
Hyun-soo, turning around, bowed. Ji-young, who had come to the living room alone without Mi-ryeong, smiled at Hyun-soo.
“Shall we talk?”
“Talk...?”
“Don’t feel pressured.”
How could she not? Just in the previous conversation, she had told her to meet her son. She had even brought up marriage. She was worried about what she would say this time, but she couldn’t refuse the offer and sat on the sofa. Ji-young also parked her wheelchair opposite her, in her usual spot.
“Have you thought about what I said?”
“Pardon?”
“Marriage, I mean.”
Hyun-soo, inwardly surprised, looked at Ji-young. She was going straight to the point without any pretense. It was an unexpected turn of events. Hyun-soo, flustered, fiddled with her hangnail and continued.
“Well, that’s...”
“Speak comfortably. Honestly. I want to know your feelings.”
Is that true? Can she really be honest? Whether she could or not, Hyun-soo only had one card to play, so she closed her eyes and answered.
“I’m sorry, but I have no intention of getting married.”
“You don’t?”
“No.”
“Not at all? Not even a little?”
“No.”
“Is it because of your age? Do you think you’re still young?”
“No. I know that twenty-nine isn’t young. It’s just... I have no intention of getting married. Especially not with Guk.”
Ji-young, with a kind face, kept smiling and staring at Hyun-soo.
“Why is that? Why don’t you want to marry our Guk?”
“We’re already friends, and... it’s impossible.”
“Impossible?”
She felt a vagueness that she didn’t know how to explain. Should she talk about the fire accident? If so, how much detail should she give? Should she say that it was practically her father who caused her mother to die, that the arsonist who killed her mother was publicly known to be her, whether it was true or not, and that’s why they couldn’t be together?
“I made a mistake, no, a wrong. I’ll never be able to repay it.”
Seeing Hyun-soo’s face, which seemed like she was about to cry, Ji-young made a strange expression.
“You have a surprisingly shameless side, Hyun-soo.”
“Pardon?”
“If someone has done wrong, has done something they can’t repay, they have to do anything for that person. Not run away with that as an excuse.”
“No, I’m not running away...”
“This is all excuses and avoidance.”
It felt like she had been hit hard on the head with a hammer. Her vision went dark for a moment and then returned.
“It seems like you owe Guk something. That’s good. Then I’ll cut to the chase without dragging it out.”
Ji-young, with a subtle smile, placed her hands on her lap and continued gracefully.
“About your mother.”
“My mother?”
“Yes. Song Young-ae.”
Hyun-soo blinked at the sudden change of topic.
“Did you know what Song Young-ae did to Guk, Hyun-soo?”
“Pardon?”
“It seems your mother ‘specially liked’ Guk and tormented him a lot. Didn’t you know anything about it?”
It felt like the phrase “blood running cold” was made for this feeling. Hyun-soo, feeling her heart cool down rather than boil, didn’t even blink as she asked again.
“What did you say? Please say that again.”
“It seems Song Young-ae, that woman, thought of Guk as a man. Luckily, Guk was sane and grown up at the time, or else...”
“...”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any incident. From what I can tell, that woman never laid a hand on Guk.”
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